Over 200 Jacksonville Faith Leaders Denounce LGBT Discrimination

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 24, 2017

CONTACT:

Michelle Nealy, mnealy@faithinpubliclife.org, (202)735-7123

Over 200 Jacksonville Clergy Denounce LGBT Discrimination

Jacksonville, FL — Today, as Jacksonville City Council members hold a public hearing on a bill that would expand protections for LGBT people, more than 200 diverse and prominent Jacksonville faith leaders have unveiled a city-wide petition condemning legislation that seeks to discriminate.

Faith leaders, including Pastor R. L. Gundy, Pastor Bruce Jones, Dr. Parvez Ahmed and Rabbi Rick Shapiro stand in support of full civil rights protections in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression for every Jacksonville resident.

The petition states, “Love and respect for one’s fellow human beings are among the most prominent and universal core values shared among all spiritual and religious traditions. Though each tradition differs one from the other, all spiritual and religious persons and groups can at least agree with this basic tenet: We have a deep and abiding obligation to love and respect others.”

To read the letter and the full list of signers, click here.

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